ABSTRACT
Two structural features constitute the history of Brazil over the last two centuries: slavery and its legacy in human relations, and destruction of the relations between humans, the natural landscape, and other species. This essay analyzes the latter structural feature of Brazilian society. The speech delivered in 1823 by José Bonifácio de Andrada e Silva marks the starting point of a process that would only deteriorate. After 200 years of destruction, three things are evident: 1. After 50 years (1970-2020) of destruction and degradation of over 2 million km2 of biomes, Brazilian society is moving towards an unprecedented environmental catastrophe; 2. This development has accelerated during the last decade; and 3. Multiple indicators enable us to assert that we are already in the early stages of this collapse.
KEYWORDS:
Deforestation; Loss of biodiversity; Atlantic Forest; Amazon; Cerrado; Environmental collapse